Karim Rashid

- A huge turning point in my life, I remember, was 1969,because I was watching, for those first nine years,a world that was talking all about the cosmos,about, you know, building spaceships that we would live on,about, you know, moving to outer space.And in fact design and design languagewas very, very instrumental in a senseof its vernacular, of speaking about that.Hence, we had transparent chairs,we had acrylics and glossy finishes and chrome,all the things that were, in a sense, going on.

You know, radiused walls, and no corners,and all this language, all this, kind of,seamless language was about this notionof living in a really positive future, in a way.Armstrong put his foot on the moonright at that moment, in '69.And I remember that so well, that moment.And 30 basically, you know, 30-some-odd years later,it dawned on me of why the world, that utopic spirit,where everything was gonna be contemporary,we're not gonna live in a post-modern this,post-modern condition of revivalism, constantly,and derivations, et cetera, disappeared.

And it was because we realized,there's nowhere to go but here.You know, it was like, almost, we landed on a dead rock.I studied how many objects we come in contacton a daily basis.And the average was 658, which meantthat's, you know, here we are, interactingwith 658 objects a day and we never speak about them.There's no real critique on 'em,there's no, very, very little discussion on how these thingsreally, really affect us.

I mean, if you make something just very, very simple,like a chair, or a vase, or a watch,or some, you know, object, in your daily life,can you somehow, this is my interest, to capturethis time we live in?You know, can that object speak about this momentin which we live?Because, as far as I know, the 50,000 years of historyof humanity, or the 200,000, if you wanna go back to,I dunno, Numeria, is that objects spoke about the timein which we lived.

And those objects spoke about the civility of the time,the religion of the time.So, you know, we would, kind of, unearthor excavate an object, and we'd learn so much about it.I mean, we know about the Ming Dynastythrough some vases at the end of the day.It's kind of amazing, this idea.So, my feeling is, OK, it's 2008 now as we talk.If you design an object today, is that objectgonna communicate 2008, and touch that timethat we live in?And I think that's, kind of, the power, I'd say,again, of commodity.

You know, it's a real, real ambassador, let's say,of the day and age in which we live,every little object in your life.The designer has to collaborate, you know.I can't really design a mobile phonewithout a mobile phone company, you know, end of story.So, you need to collaborate.And in turn, by collaborating, you also need to,kind of, listen, and embrace, and understand,and engage the culture of the company you work with.

So, a lot of times now, I think designers, and design firms,and brands have to, in a way, know how tojoin, let's say, their brands.You know, they need to, kind of, come together.So, and, make a really, really good relationship.And, inevitably, if they're made for each other,they will create something or do somethingthat's really, has some real meaning and success.

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Released

7/18/2014

On an average day, each of us uses hundreds of objects. (Don't believe it? Start counting: alarm clock, light switch, faucet, shampoo bottle, toothbrush, razor…) But who makes all these things, and why do they look and feel the way they do? How can good design make objects, and our lives, better?

Objectified is a documentary about industrial design; it's about the manufactured objects we surround ourselves with, and the people who make them. Gary Hustwit, the director of Helvetica, talks with Dieter Rams, Marc Newson, Jonathan Ive, and other renowned designers behind some of the world's most iconic products. lynda.com is proud to offer this film to our members, along with over one hour of online-exclusive bonus movies.